An Entrepreneur Walks into a Bar

An entrepreneur walks into a bar.  The bartender says, “Your dad, your client, a Hokie, and your swim coach are all here.”

Ha!  It’s not a joke!

An enterprising entrepreneur eager for an opportunity to pitch to angel investors, I entered the VT KnowledgeWorks Entrepreneurship Summit’s Open Business Concept Competition.  It’s who you know - so did a whole lot of other people very familiar to me!

The official word will come out soon, but here are the finalists who will pitch to compete for the prize of business acceleration at VT KnowledgeWorks on Wednesday, April 7, 2010:

Anne Giles Clelland - Handshake 2.0. C’est moi.

Robert H. Giles, Jr. - RRx / Rural System.  That’s my dad.

Z. Kelly Queijo - SmartCollegeVisit. That’s my client, colleague and friend.

Amjad Hussein. That’s a fellow Virginia Tech Hokie whom I’ve not yet met but very much look forward to meeting.

Frederick Cook - Actifity.  That’s my triathlon swim coach who taught me to reach ahead in the water like Superman!

So now I’m competing with my dad, my client, a fellow Hokie, and my swim coach?

Crazy.

Crazier is that I’ll also be a co-presenter at the Summit.  Let’s see, present on Wednesday morning, pitch on Wednesday afternoon, watch my dad, client, Hokie, and swim coach pitch on Wednesday afternoon, go to TechNite Wednesday night (for which I am honored to have been nominated for Entrepreneur and Rising Star awards  – thank you, nominators!), then Thursday afternoon, watch my dad, swim coach, and VT KnowledgeWorks colleagues pitch live to angel investors.

I need a whiteboard.

An entrepreneur walks into a bar.  The bartender says, “Your dad, your client, a Hokie, and your swim coach are all here.  But the angel just left."

Hey!  That's not funny!

:)

See you at The Summit!

Comments

[Monica]

wow so many opportunities to celebrate, you can't lose!

[Anne Giles Clelland]

I feel the same way!

I love this description:

"This two-day comprehensive workshop is custom designed for prospective company founders, entrepreneurs launching or re-vamping a business, growing companies seeking expansion capital, and individuals interested in investing in early-stage companies."

That's reason enough to go!

Nice to share the view that this is a celebration!

More details here:
http://www.insidevtknowledgeworks.com/2010/03/vt-knowledgeworks-entrepreneurship-summit-event-filled.html

[Lindsey Eversole]

I absolutely love this post! You had me chuckling and smiling throughout the entire read! We are so looking forward to viewing your presentations on the 7th - all five of you - You, your dad, your client, a Hokie, and your swim coach.

[Anne Giles Clelland]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Lindsey! I loved writing it and I, too, look forward to seeing the entire cast of characters in the Entrepreneurship Summit show!